Footwear device with upper support

ABSTRACT

A footwear device. The footwear device preferably encloses a foot of a wearer to augment the wearer&#39;s athletic performance by helping to prevent the wearer&#39;s susceptibility to injury. The footwear device is preferably comprised of an upper portion, wherein the upper portion may comprise of an integrated padding or padded portion that provides impact resistance to the toes and to the top portion of the foot. This padded portion preferably helps absorb, disperse, and deflect impact, thereby shielding a foot of the wearer against injury and abrasion.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application takes priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/839,318, filed on Jun. 25, 2013, titled “Footwear Device with Upper Support”, by inventor Daniel Vincent Zynn, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by this reference as though set forth in their entirety, and to which priority is claimed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention generally relates to footwear. More specifically, the invention relates to an impact resistant support for the upper portion of footwear to assist in preventing injury to a person's foot, especially, the top portion of the foot.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Athletes generally focus on enhancing their size, strength, and speed for sport competitions and have become bigger, stronger, and faster than ever. Unfortunately, as a result of these enhancements, athletes have become more susceptible to injuries, and, as a result, it has become extremely common for athletes in certain sports—e.g., football, rugby, soccer, and hockey—to incur foot injuries. As such, athletes performing at a high level generally need equipment that enables them to avoid possible foot injuries.

In athletics, players endure a great deal of pressure on the upper portion of their foot when athletes accidently step on one another during competition. In some cases the pressure reaches up to seven times the body weight. This pressure can reach up to 2,650 pounds or more. This significant amount of pressure causes serve damage to the athlete's foot.

These problems cause issues for athletes known as Lisfranc Joint Complex, metatarsal bone damage, ligament tears, broken toenails, broken toes, and infected toenails. The pain that is related to these injures is extreme. When such an injury occurs the athletes mobility may become extremely limited.

Footwear generally serves as an essential part of the sporting equipment used by athletes. Footwear oftentimes encloses the foot in a way that either hinders or augments a wearer's athletic performance. Footwear can also protect the foot from harm when equipped with the right components.

A conventional article of athletic footwear includes a footwear upper and footwear lower. The upper portion of the shoe generally securely holds the foot in place in the footwear, while still offering ventilation, flexibility, protection, and support. The upper portion typically includes the tongue of the footwear and is often, but not limited to being, formed from leather, synthetic materials, or a combination thereof. The footwear lower generally comprises of a sole and may incorporate multiple layers, such as an insole, midsole, and outsole.

A resilient upper portion of the footwear may absorb, disperse, and deflect impact and protect against abrasion. An improved upper structure can also provide impact resistance to the entire top portion of the foot—with low-profile, lightweight, durable, and breathable cell foam—without adding bulk to the footwear.

Although a number of attempts have been made to protect a foot from injuries, athletic footwear is generally ill-equipped to handle the biomechanical motion of the athlete's foot while keeping an extra layer of padded protection in a fixed position in the footwear. Athletic footwear is also generally ill-equipped to protect the entire metatarsal bones in the foot, in addition to the toes.

Thus, what is needed is footwear that offers internally integrated, non-removable padding that provides extra protection to the entire top portion of the foot, including the toes, by helping to absorb, disperse, and deflect impact, thereby shielding against foot injury and abrasion.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To minimize the limitations in the prior art, and to minimize other limitations that will become apparent upon reading and understanding the present specification, the present invention is a footwear device with padding that provides extra protection to the toes and entire top portion of the wearer's foots.

One embodiment is a footwear device comprising: a footwear upper and a footwear lower; wherein the footwear upper comprises of a tongue and a padded portion; and wherein the footwear lower comprises of an insole and an outsole. The padded portion preferably extends from the tongue to approximately a front of the upper, such that one or more toes of a wearer are essentially covered by the padded portion. The tongue is preferably part of the padded portion. Preferably, the padded portion is integrated into the footwear device, such that the padded portion is not removable. Preferably, the padded portion is constructed of one or more foam cells and a knitting mesh.

Another embodiment is a footwear device comprising: a footwear upper and a footwear lower; wherein the footwear upper comprises of a tongue; and wherein the footwear lower comprises of an insole and an outsole. The tongue may extend from approximately a lower leg portion of a wearer to approximately one or more toes of the wearer. The tongue may be comprised of a padding. The tongue may substantially cover one or more toes of the wearer. The tongue may substantially cover an upper portion of a foot of a wearer. The tongue may substantially cover a front portion and upper portion of the footwear device. The tongue may be integrated into the footwear device, such that the padding is non-removable. The tongue may be constructed of one or more foam cells and a knitting mesh.

Another embodiment is a footwear device comprising: an upper portion; wherein the upper portion is comprised of a tongue. Preferably, the tongue is a strip that extends from the top-center of the footwear device through the mid-foot area to the toe area. Preferably, the upper portion is comprised of padding, which extends bilaterally and medially to cover the upper portion of the footwear device. Preferably, the bilateral extension occurs as the tongue extends downward and approaches the toe area of the footwear device. Preferably, the padding is internally integrated into, and non-removable from, the footwear device. Preferably, the padding is constructed of low-profile, structured foam cells. Preferably, the low-profile, structured foam cells are held together with a knitting mesh.

The invention is preferably a footwear device with upper support that offers impact resistance to the foot. This generally allows the wearer to comfortably and protectively wear the device as he or she is participating in athletic activities. The upper support, which is typically comprised of structured foam cells, generally cushions the entire top portion of the foot and the toes in order to absorb, disperse, a deflect impact during athletic activities. This cushioning preferably helps to prevent injury and abrasion to the foot.

It is an object of the invention to provide footwear that has a protection mechanism that provides impact absorption from impact normally encountered in athletics, such as football, rugby, soccer, and hockey.

It is an object of the invention to internally integrate non-removable padding into the upper portion of athletic footwear, such that the foot of a wearer is not substantially exposed. The padding does not become loose and risk unprotected, potentially impact-intensive exposure to the foot.

It is an object of the invention to provide protection to the top portion of the foot, including the toes.

It is an object of the invention to help absorb, disperse, and deflect impact, and to thereby shield against foot injury and abrasion.

It is an object of the invention to provide a support device for the foot. The invention is preferably made of an upper portion of low-profile, structured foam cells that are held together with a knitting mesh, such that the upper portion of the footwear provides impact resistance in the event of a direct hit during an athletic activity.

It is an object of the invention to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art.

These, as well as other components, steps, features, objects, benefits, and advantages, will now become clear from a review of the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, of the accompanying photographs, and of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings are of illustrative embodiments, but do not depict all embodiments. Other embodiments may be used in addition to or instead of the illustrative embodiments. Details that may be apparent or unnecessary may be omitted for the purpose of saving space or for more effective illustrations. Some embodiments may be practiced with additional components or steps and/or without some or all components or steps provided in the illustrations. When different drawings contain the same numeral, that numeral refers to the same or similar components or steps.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a side perspective view of one embodiment of the footwear device.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a side view of another embodiment of the footwear device, and a top view of the padded tongue on the footwear device.

FIGS. 3-5 are an illustration of force correlation data between prior art (FIGS. 3-4) and one embodiment of the footwear device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of one or more embodiments of the invention. However, one or more embodiments of the invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well-known procedures and/or components have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of embodiments of the invention.

While some embodiments are disclosed here, still other embodiments of the present invention will become obvious to those skilled in the art as a result of the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention. The invention is capable of modifications of various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The Figures, and their detailed descriptions, are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment of the invention shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention.

The terms “footwear” and “shoe”, according to the present invention, generally refer to any garment worn over the feet of a user, including without limitation, boots (e.g., chukka boots, combat boots, cowboy boots, fashion boots, go-go boots, cleats, hiking boots, kinky boots, motorcycle boots, mukluk, platform boots, riding boots, Russian boots, derby boots, thigh-length boots, ugg boots, valenki, waders, wellington boot, winklepickers, etc.), shoes (e.g., athletic shoes such as trainers or sneakers, brothel creepers, court shoes, cleats, diabetic shoes, espadrilles, galoshes, kitten heels, lace-up shoes, derby shoes, oxford shoes, brogues, high-tops, loafers, Mary Janes, moccasins, monks, mules, platform shoes, school shoes, skate shoes, tap shoes, etc.), sandals (e.g., “Mandals”, flip-flops (thongs), slide, wörishofer, avarca, from Balearic Islands), indoor footwear (e.g., slippers, socks, etc.), footwraps, specific footwear (e.g. ballet shoes, high-heeled footwear, climbing shoes, clogs, football boots, sabaton, safety footwear, ski boots, snowshoes, surgical shoes, pointe shoes, swimfins, etc.), and traditional footwear.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a side perspective view of one embodiment of the footwear device. As shown in FIG. 1, the footwear device may comprise of: a footwear upper and a footwear lower; wherein the footwear upper may comprise of a tongue and wherein the footwear lower may comprise of an insole and an outsole. The footwear upper preferably includes a padded portion, which is highlighted in pink. FIG. 1 shows that the upper, which includes the tongue, of the footwear device is preferably comprised of a padded portion along the tongue and front portion of the upper. The padded portion preferably consists of structured foam cells with a mesh knitting, as indicated by the hexagonal shapes in the highlighted, pink section. As shown in FIG. 1, the padded portion preferably extends from the tongue through the mid-foot area to the toe area. As the padded portion extends downward from the tongue, it preferably bilaterally expands at the toe area of the footwear device. FIG. 1 shows that the upper portion of the footwear device preferably is internally integrated into the device and therefore not removable. FIG. 1 also shows cleat-like protrusions that extend from the base of the footwear device. These cleat-like protrusions demonstrate one embodiment of athletic footwear where the wearer may benefit from an impact resistant upper portion.

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a side view of another embodiment of the footwear device, and a top view of the padded tongue on the footwear device. As shown in FIG. 2, the footwear device may be comprised of a padded portion of the upper, which is highlighted in red. FIG. 2 shows that the upper portion of the footwear device is preferably comprised of a padded portion. The top view of the padded portion shows the structured foam cells and mesh knitting of the upper portion. FIG. 2 also shows the extension of the padded portion from the tongue of the footwear device through the mid-foot area to the toe area. FIG. 2 shows the bilateral expansion of the padded tongue at the toe region of the footwear device. FIG. 2 also shows cleat-like protrusions that extend from the base of the footwear device and that demonstrate one type of athletic footwear where the wearer may benefit from an impact resistant upper portion. Furthermore, FIG. 2 shows how the padded upper portion may essentially cover the entire top of the foot, including the metatarsal bones and the toes.

FIGS. 3-5 are an illustration of force correlation data between prior art (FIGS. 3-4) and one embodiment of the footwear device (FIG. 5). The correlation test included two prior art cleat shoes and one embodiment of the footwear device, specifically a cleat shoe. Three hundred pounds was applied to all three cleats with a three-inch diameter flat face impresser to the toe area for the “toe pressure test”. Three hundred pounds was also applied to all three cleats through a cleats heal to the toe area for the “heal to toe test”.

The correlation results shown in FIGS. 3-5 shows that the footwear device reduced the force impact received up to one thousand IBF's for the athlete. This is a substantial difference that may be crucial to the protection of what athletes use the most during athletic competition, their feet. The results are measured by PSI and LBF force.

Unless otherwise stated, all measurements, values, ratings, positions, magnitudes, sizes, locations, and other specifications that are set forth in this specification, including in the claims that follow, are approximate, not exact. They are intended to have a reasonable range that is consistent with the functions to which they relate and with what is customary in the art to which they pertain.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the above detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the invention. The invention is capable of modifications in various obvious aspects, all without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the detailed description is to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. Also, although not explicitly recited, one or more embodiments of the invention may be practiced in combination or conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the reference or non-reference to a particular embodiment of the invention shall not be interpreted to limit the scope of the invention. It is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by this detailed description, but by the claims and the equivalents to the claims that are appended hereto.

Except as stated immediately above, nothing that has been stated or illustrated is intended or should be interpreted to cause a dedication of any component, step, feature, object, benefit, advantage, or equivalent, to the public, regardless of whether it is or is not recited in the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A footwear device comprising: a footwear upper; and a footwear lower; wherein said footwear upper comprises of a tongue and a padded portion; and wherein said footwear lower comprises of an insole and an outsole.
 2. The footwear device of claim 1, wherein said padded portion extends from said tongue to approximately a front of said upper, such that one or more toes of a wearer are essentially covered by said padded portion.
 3. The footwear device of claim 1, wherein said tongue is part of said padded portion.
 4. The footwear device of claim 1, wherein said padded portion is integrated into said footwear device, such that said padded portion is not removable.
 5. The footwear device of claim 1, wherein said padded portion is constructed of one or more foam cells and a knitting mesh. 